Toilet tank flush valve



Feb. 13, 1968 M. J. AMENT TOILET TANK FLUSH VALVE Filed Nov. 4, 1965INVENTOR. MYRON J. AMENT yQ/mu A M/ I; g

FIG. i

United States Patent 3,368,224 TOILET TANK FLUSH VALVE Myron J. Ament,Adrian, Pa., assignor to Wallace-Murray Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 506,323 Claims.(Cl. 457) This invention relates to a flush valve assembly for a toiletflush tank. More particularly, the invention relates to such a valveassembly which can be readily snapped into position within the outletopening in the flush tank and retained with the tank pending mounting ofthe tank on the conventional upper mounting flange of the toilet bowl.

Prior flush valve assemblies for toilet flush tanks include amultiplicity of parts which must be successively assembled, making itnecessary to perform several steps to complete the valve installation.For example, when installing prior valve assemblies, it is usuallynecessary to insert the valve body downwardly through the flush outletopening from inside the flush tank, and then hold it in proper positionwhile a retainer, such as a threaded nut or resilient ring, is placed onthe assembly from the outside of the tank.

In addition, it is often necessary to connect a complicated float valvesystem to the valve outlet seat and overflow tube, after the seat andtube have been secured within the flush tank, to thereby complete theoutlet valve assembly. Undue labor cost in the manufacture and assemblyof a toilet with a completed flush valve assembly therein is generatedby the number of operations which must be performed within the confinedspace inside the flush tank at the time of bathroom installation of thetoilet. The need for a flush tank outlet valve assembly with a minimumnumber of parts, which can be easily installed in the flush outletopening, and which includes serted through the outlet opening wherebysaid retaining an improved floating flush valve member to simplify theinstallation of the assembly, is readily apparent.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide animproved outlet flush valve assembly for a toilet flush tank which maybe readily installed and retained within the outlet opening of the flushtank.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an outlet valveassembly for a toilet flush tank wherein the number of parts to beassembled during installation into the flush tank is minimized.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide an outlet valveassembly which may be inserted into the outlet opening of a flush tankfrom outside the tank and which is automatically retained therein,thereby decreasing the time and expense necessary for installation.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an outletvalve assembly for a toilet flush tank which may include an improvedfloating flush valve member so that the assembly may be readilyinstalled within the flush tank.

The outlet valve assembly of this invention may be generally describedas comprising a valve body insertable into the outlet opening in thebottom wall of a flush tank to provide an outlet passage for the flushwater with the upper end of said body including a valve seat, said bodyfurther having an overflow tube in communication with said outletpassage below said valve seat, a flush valve member engageable with saidvalve seat to close said outlet passage, retaining wall means on saidbody extending laterally outwardly therefrom to engage the underside ofthe bottom wall of the flush tank; and resilient retaining means securedto said body to engage the tank bottom wall, said resilient retainingmeans being resiliently compressed toward said body as said body isinmeans engage the bottom wall to retain said valve body within theoutlet opening in the flush tank.

Similarly, the improved floating flush valve member suitable forincorporation with this assembly may be generally described ascomprising an upper valve element pivotally connected to the overflowtube, a lower valve element connected to the upper element, the lowervalve element including a hollow portion defining in coopration withsaid upper valve element a float means, and an annular seat washerretained between the upper and lower valve elements extending laterallybeyond the periphery of the lower element to be engageable with thevalve seat of the outlet valve assembly.

More specifically, this invention will be described hereinafter withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. In these drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a partial sectional view showing a preferred embodiment ofthe invention installed within the outlet opening of the toilet flushtank;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the outlet valve assembly with partsin section to illustrate the assembly retaining means;

FIGURE 3 illustrates an initial stage during installation of the outletvalve assembly in the flush tank outlet opening; and

FIGURE 4 illustrates a more advanced stage of installation of the outletvalve assembly than shown in FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawings, a conventional toilet flush tank having anoutlet opening 1 in the flush tank bottom wall 2 is shown. The outletvalve assembly of this invention is insertable within this outletopening 1, and the flush tank, with the valve assembly secured thereinthen mounted on the top wall 3 of a conventional toilet flush bowl inthe relationship illustrated in FIGURE 1.

The improved outlet flush valve assembly includes a valve body 4 whichis preferably cylindrical so that it may be readily inserted within thecircular tank outlet opening 1. The interior of body 4 is open toprovide an outlet passage 5 through which the flush water may dischargeduring the flushing operation. The upper end of body 4 provides a valveseat 10 which is preferably inclined at an angle as shown in FIGURE 1.

Valve body 4 also includes an inlet 11 for tank overflow waterpositioned to communicate with outlet passage 5 below valve seat 10 soas not to interfere with the operation of the float valve member asdescribed hereinafter. An overflow tube 12, which as illustrated maycomprise two telescoping sections, is connected to body 4 above inlet 11so that the interior of tube 12 com- 'municates with outlet passage 5through inlet 11.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the top of tube 12 is preferably partially closedby a wall 6 with a lateral opening 7 provided in the side of the tubenear the top to receive any overflow water from the tank. An aperture 8is formed in wall 6 for the reception of the usual refill water tube 9,such tube being readily installed in aperture 8 by pressing the tube 9,preferably made of flexible plastic or rubber material, upwardly throughthe aperture. Protuberances 17 are provided in the wall of tube 9 nearthe end thereof as are shown on FIGURE 1. These assist in retaining thetube in its proper position connected to the overflow tube 12 andprevent the tube 9 from working out of aperture 8. It will be understoodthat aperture 8 and tube 9 will be so related in size that the tube hasa snug frictional fit with aperture 8 to hold it as shown on FIGURE 1.

The function of the refill tube 9 is conventional and need not bedescribed in detail. Generally, the tube supplies water from the floatcontrolled water inlet valve to the toilet bowl durin the tank fillingoperation. This refill water .is discharged from tube 9 into overflowtube 12 While the flushing float valve member is closed, the refillwater being led to outlet passage and then to the toilet bowl to insureadequate water in the bowl and trap once the tank has been completelyfilled following a flushing operation.

A retaining wall means 13, comprising a flange and gasket 16 enclosingsuch flange is provided at the lower end of body 4. The flange andgasket extend outwardly from the bottom of outlet passage 5 to engagebeneath the bottom wall 2 of the flush tank. Gasket 16 is preferablypermanently attached to the flange 15 to minimize the number of parts inthe assembly, and is of any suitable resilient material such as rubber.Thus constructed, this retaining wall means 13 in engaging the bottomwall 2 of the flush tank assists in retaining the valve body 4 in thedesired position within the outlet opening 1. The gasket 16 in the finalinstallation, compressed between the tank bottom wall and top wall 3 ofthe toilet bowl also insures that the completed installation will befluid tight.

As clearly illustrated in FIGURE 1, flange 15 and gasket 16 arepreferably positioned on the lower end of body 4 so that this retainingwall means 13 engages the under surface 20 of bottom wall 2 as the valvebody 4 is inserted upwardly into the tank outlet opening 1.

A resilient retaining means 24 is also provided as a part of the outletvalve assembly to engage with the upper surface of bottom wall 2. Inthis embodiment, this resilient retaining means 24 comprises a resilientrib 25 connected to body 4 and extending laterally outwardly therefrom.The valve body 4 may be made of any suitable material, such as plastic,in which case the rib 25 may be integrally molded as a part of body 4.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, resilient rib 25 is preferably connected tothe body 4 near its upper end, and inclined downwardly and outwardlyfrom the vertical axis of body 4 toward the flange 15 and gasket 16.Resilient rib 25 is positioned on body 4 a suflicient distance above theretaining wall means 13 so that retaining wall means 13 engages with theunder surface of bottom wall 2 of the flush tank while the secondretaining means 24 engages the upper surface of bottom wall 2, or atleast presses against the bore of outlet opening 1 to retain theassembly in the opening. The valve body 4 is insertable upwardly throughoutlet opening 1, the opening resilient- 1y compressing rib 25 as theassembly is inserted upwardly through the tank bottom 2 and until rib 25snaps out to engage with the upper surface of the flush tank bottom wall2, or at least frictionally engage the bore of outlet opening 1 toretain the assembly in place. The two retaining means then cooperatewith bottom wall 2 to retain the valve assembly within outlet opening 1.

To help retain rib 25 in engagement with the bottom wall 2 and tocompensate for minor variations in diameter of outlet opening 1generally resulting from the casting operation involved in manufacturingstandard flush tanks, preferably an abutment wall 31, is provided on theopposite side of body 4 from resilient rib 25. Abutment Wall 31 is showngenerally wedge-shaped and provides an abutting surface 32 which isdownwardly inclined from the axis of body 4. This surface 32 isengageable with the periphery of tank outlet opening 1 when the valveassembly is inserted therein as shown in FIGURE 1. The abutment wall 31thus keeps body 4 laterally within the opening 1 to retain rib 25 inengagement with bottom Wall 2. As shown more clearly on FIGURES 3 and 4depicting various stages of installation of the flush valve assemblywith a flush tank, the abutment wall 31 also facilitates insertion ofthe assembly through the outlet opening 1.

The assembly further includes a flush valve member,

generally indicated by the numeral 40, to control the flushingoperation. Flush valve member 40 is preferably of the flapper valvetype, as seen in FIGURE 1, and is pivotally connected to the overflowtube 12.

Valve member 40 generally comprises an upper valve element 41 whichincludes a substantially flat lower face 42. The central portion 43 ofelement 41 is raised to define a recess 44 therebelow which isinternally threaded at 45. The lower face 42 also includes a generallyannular rib 46 which encircles recess 44. Further, the outer end ofupper valve element 41 includes a slot 47 to which actuating means, suchas a chain 48, is secured to operate the flush valve member.

Flush valve member 40 further includes a lower valve element 50. Member50 has a hollow central portion 51 as shown in FIGURE 1, to define withrecess 44 in upper valve element 41, a float chamber 52. The centralportion 51 includes an upwardly extending cylindrical wall 53 havingexternal threads 54 engageable with internal threads 45 on the uppervalve element 41. In addition, a flange 55 extends outwardly below wall53 generally parallel to lower face 42 of the upper valve element 41.This flange 55 extends outwardly to terminate beneath the annular rib 46of the upper valve element 41, but is smaller in diameter than the valveseat 10 provided on the upper end of valve body 4. In this manner, thelower valve element 50 including float chamber 52, is housed within theflush outlet passage 5, when the flush valve is closed to provide acompact outlet valve assembly.

An annular washer 60 is removably secured between the flange 55 of lowervalve element 50 and the rib 46 of upper element 41 when threads 45 and54 of the two valve elements are interengaged. This washer 60 extendslaterally outwardly beyond the flange 55 and is engageable with thevalve seat 10 to close the outlet passage 5 when the flush tank isemptied. The lower face 42 of valve element 41 may havecircumferentially spaced radial ribs extending radially outwardly fromannular rib 46 to support the outer peripheral portion of washer element60 away from the flat face 42 when the valve member 40 is pressedagainst valve seat 10 by the water within the flush tank. Washer 60 alsoseals the junction between the upper valve element 41 and the lowervalve element 50 to insure that the air float chamber 52 is sealedagainst possible water leakage thereinto. Washer 60 therefore performsthe dual functions of closing the valve seat 10 and sealing the floatchamber 52. In addition, washer 60 is the only element of valve member40 subject to wear by contact with valve seat 10 and by being removablysecured between the threadably connected valve elements 41 and 50, itcan be readily replaced.

To pivotally mount the valve 40 on the overflow tube 12, the upper valveelement 41 includes a pair of outwardly extending arms 70. Each of thesearms 70 is connected to upper element 41 and has an aperture 71 at itsouter end. The arms 70 are sufliciently resilient so that they may beseparated laterally for mounting the valve member 40 on the overflowtube 12. In the preferred embodiment, the arms 70 are molded integrallywith the upper valve element 41, and are substantially parallel to eachother.

The lower end of overflow tube 12 is provided with a pair of alignedstuds 75, as best illustrated in FIGURE 2, extending from opposite sidesof the tube. Studs 75 are preferably molded integral with the tube 12which may be made of plastic as a part of valve 4. Each stud iscylindrical in shape to present a smooth peripheral bearing surface. Thearms 70 on upper valve element 40 are spread apart and the apertures 71in the arms engaged over studs 75 whereupon the arms are released tospring together and thereby be pivotally retained on studs 75. The arms70 are sufliciently rigid as to retain studs 75 within the arm apertures71 and hence, no further retaining means for this valve connection isnecessary.

The installation of the outlet flush valve assembly within the flushtank will now be described. The overflow tube 12 and the valve body 4with the flush valve member 40 detached, are inserted upwardly into theflush tank through the outlet opening 1 to the dotted line positionillustrated on FIGURE 3. If the valve member 40 is sufliciently small inoverall diameter to pass through the outlet opening 1, such valve membermay be attached as a part of the assembly when it is installed. As thisupward movement is continued, the assembly is tilted to the full lineposition on FIGURE 3. The assembly is then shifted laterally for thesurface 32 of abutment 31 to come into contact with the periphery ofopening 1, as shown in solid lines on FIGURE 4. Thereafter, upward andtilting movement brings resilient rib 25 into engagement with theperiphery of the outlet opening as the assembly is moved toward thefully installed position shown in dotted lines on FIGURE 4. Rib 25contacts the periphery of opening 1, and is resiliently compressedtoward body 4 as the body moves upwardly through outlet opening 1 intothe interior of the flush tank. After resilient rib 25 has passedthrough opening 1 preferably it will snap into engagement with the uppersurface 30 of bottom tank wall 2, and thus prevent the body 4 from beingwithdrawn from the outlet opening although with a thick bottom wall tankthe resilient rib 25 may remain frictionally pressing against the boreof the outlet opening 1 to retain the assembly in place pending mountingof the tank on the upper wall of a toilet bowl. Inclined abuttingsurface 32 remains in contact with the periphery of the outlet opening 1when the rib 25 snaps into engagement with bottom wall 2 and urges thebody 4 laterally to help retain the rib 25 in place and also tends tocam the assembly upwardly so that retaining wall means 13 will be snugagainst the underside 20 of tank bottom 2.

As illustrated by the phantom lines in FIGURE 4, the gasket 16 andflange forming retaining wall means 13 are in substantial contact withthe under surface of bottom wall 2 when rib engages the upper surfaceand such wall means prevents upward movement of the valve body 4 withinopening 1. In addition, when the flush tank is positioned above thetoilet bowl, as shown in FIGURE 1, the gasket 16 provides a fluid-tightconnection between the toilet tank and bowl.

From the above description, it is apparent that this invention allowsthe main portion of the toilet tank outlet valve assembly, such as thevalve body 4 and overflow tube 12, to be inserted and retained withinthe outlet opening 1 by one simple operation, performed solely frombeneath the bottom wall of the flush tank. Since the resilient retainingmeans 24 snaps into engagement with the bottom wall 2 to retain thevalve body 4 within the opening 1, it is unnecessary to performinstalling operations on the other side of the flush tank bottom wall 2.

To complete the installation of the valve assembly, if the valve member'40 was not in place when the assembly was being installed as describedabove, the arms 70 of flush valve 40 are spread apart and the alignedapertures 71 placed over the studs 75 on the overflow tube 12. The arms70 are then released to retract inwardly on to studs 75, and retain thestuds 75 within the aligned apertures 71. The flush valve 40 is therebypivotally mounted on the overflow tube 12. The refill tube 9 which mayconveniently be housed within overflow tube 12 with only a short lengthextending above wall 6 may then be pulled upwardly through aperture 8 inthe top of the overflow tube 12 and appropriately connected to the floatcontrolled water inlet valve (not shown) to complete the installation.

There has been illustrated and described what is considered to be apreferred embodiment of this invention. It will be understood, however,that various modifications may be made by persons skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention, which is definedsolely by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An outlet flush valve assembly for a toilet flush tank comprising avalve body insertable into the outlet opening in the bottom wall of aflush tank to provide an outlet passage for the flush water with theupper end of said body including a valve seat, said body further havingan overflow tube in communication with and offset from said outletpassage below said valve seat,

a flush valve member engageable with said valve seat to close saidoutlet passage,

retaining wall means on said body extending laterally outwardlytherefrom to engage the underside of the bottom wall of the flush tank;and

resilient retaining means secured to said body to engage the tank bottomwall, said resilient retaining means being resiliently compressed towardsaid body as said body is inserted through the outlet opening wherebysaid retaining means engage the bottom wall to retain said valve bodywithin the outlet opening in the flush tank.

2. An outlet flush valve assembly according to claim 1 wherein saidresilient retaining means comprises a resilient rib connected to saidbody and extending outwardly at an angle therefrom.

3. An outlet flush valve assembly according to claim 2 wherein saidresilient rib is angularly inclined from the axis of said body towardsaid retaining wall means.

4. An outlet flush valve assembly according to claim 2 wherein saidresilient retaining means further comprises abutment means connected tosaid body substantially opposite the position of said rib on said body,said abutment means being engageable with the periphery of the outletopening to urge said body laterally within the outlet opening and retainsaid rib engagement with the bottom wall.

5. An outlet flush valve assembly according to claim 4 wherein saidabutment comprises a member angularly inclined relative to the axis ofsaid body.

6. An outlet flush valve assembly according to claim 1 wherein saidretaining wall means is connected to the lower end of said body in theform of an annular flange enclosed within a gasket to engage the undersurface of the tank bottom wall, and said resilient retaining means isconnected to said body to engage the upper surface of the bottom wallwhereby said body is insertable upwardly through the outlet opening tosnap said resilient retaining means into engagement with the uppersurface of the bottom wall of the flush tank.

7. An outlet flush valve assembly according to claim 1 wherein saidflush valve member comprises an upper valve element pivotally connectedto said overflow tube, a lower valve element connected to said upperelement including a hollow float means defined therebetween, a washerretained between said upper and lower valve elements and extendinglaterally beyond said lower member so that said washer is engageablewith said valve seat to close the upper end of said body, and means toconnect flush actuating means to said flush valve member.

8. An outlet flush valve assembly according to claim 7 wherein saidupper and lower valve elements are threadably interconnected with saidwasher being clamped between the threadably connected elements to enablereplacement of said washer by separating said elements and said washerserves as a seal for the hollow float means defined between saidelements.

9. An outlet valve assembly according to claim 7 wherein said uppervalve element includes a pair of arms extending outwardly toward saidoverflow tube, the outer ends of said arms being pivotally connected tosaid tube.

10. An outlet flush valve assembly for a toilet flush tank comprising avalve body insertable into the outlet opening in the bottom wall of aflush tank to provide an outlet passage for the flush water, the upperend of said body including a valve seat,

7 8 an overflow tube connected to said body communicab of saidcylindrical wall and terminating beneath said ing with and ofiset fromsaid outlet passage below annular rib, said valve seat, the lower end ofsaid tube including a substantially flat annular washer removablysecured a pair of aligned studs projecting outwardly therebetween saidflange of said lower element and said from, rib of said upper element,said washer extending retaining means secured to said body andengageable laterally beyond said flange to be engageable with with thebottom wall of the flush tank to retain said said valve seat in closingthe upper end of said outlet body within the outlet opening, andpassage, and a flush valve member engageable with said valve seat meansto connect actuating means to said flush valve having an upper valveelement with a substantially 10 member to initiate the flushingoperation. flat lower face, said upper valve element including a raisedcentral portion having a threaded recess References Cited therebelow,said lower face including an annular rib UNITED STATES PATENTSencircling said recess, said upper valve element further including apair of arms extending outwardly g s toward said overflow tube, theouter end of said 2693601 11/1954 S ig arms including aligned aperturesengageable with 2735112 2/1956 m1 Myers 4-57 said aligned studs topivotally connect sa1d upper 2763 872 9/1956 N elson 457 P valve elementto said overflow tube, 2 849 725 9/1958 A t 0 t 1 a lower valveincluding a hollow central portion de- 3O72919 1/1963 gg ng "L P fimngfloat means wlth sa1d threaded recess and an 3,154,794 11/1964 Antunez Pupwardly extending cylindrical wall threadably engaged within saidthreaded recess to connect said LAVERNE D GEIGER Primary Examiner lowerelement to said upper element, said lower elemerit further including aflange extending outwardly K ARTIS, Assistant Examiner-

1. AN OUTLET FLUSH VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR A TOILET FLUSH TANK COMPRISING AVALVE BODY INSERTABLE INTO THE OUTLET OPENING IN THE BOTTOM WALL OF AFLUSH TANK TO PROVIDE AN OUTLET PASSAGE FOR THE FLUSH WATER WITH THEUPPER END OF SAID BODY INCLUDING A VALVE SEAT, SAID BODY FURTHER HAVINGAN OVERFLOW TUBE IN COMMUNICATION WITH AND OFFSET FROM SAID OUTLETPASSAGE BELOW SAID VALVE SEAT, A FLUSH VALVE MEMBER ENGAGEABLE WITH SAIDVALVE SEAT TO CLOSE SAID OUTLET PASSAGE, RETAINING WALL MEANS ON SAIDBODY EXTENDING LATERALLY OUTWARDLY THEREFROM TO ENGAGE THE UNDERSIDE OFTHE BOTTOM WALL OF THE FLUSH TANK; AND RESILIENT RETAINING MEANS SECUREDTO SAID BODY TO ENGAGE THE TANK BOTTOM WALL, SAID RESILIENT RETAININGMEANS BEING RESILIENTLY COMPRESSED TOWARD SAID BODY AS SAID BODY ISINSERTED THROUGH THE OUTLET OPENING WHEREBY SAID RETAINING MEANS ENGAGETHE BOTTOM WALL TO RETAIN SAID VALVE BODY WITHIN THE OUTLET OPENING INTHE FLUSH TANK.